A high fiber diet plan: The prescription for a long life minus weight problems! - By: Tom Johnson

With a laundry list like cancer, heart trouble and diabetes being so prevalent today, people are becoming educated on the benefits of a healthy eating plan. Although a healthy diet must be well balanced, fiber is arguably one of the most important components. Why? A high fiber diet plan can help you side line all of the aforementioned diseases, adding to that is the energy you get and sliming effect as well. Many studies have shown that people who stick with a high fiber diet plan live longer.

Fiber reduces your 'bad' cholesterol and lowers high blood pressure, thus contributing to cardiovascular health. Fiber significantly reduces your risk of certain cancers as well.

A high fiber diet plan is important in the management of diabetes, because each gram of fiber essentially offsets the carbohydrate grams taken in. To illustrate, if you have a piece of bread having 12 grams of carbohydrate and 4 grams of fiber, the net carbohydrates consumed equals just 8 grams.

If weight loss is your priority, or if you have diabetes and need to lose weight, a high fiber diet plan provides a benefit to you, because it often requires more calories to digest that fiber than the food contains! You can quickly achieve a feeling of fullness with fiber-rich foods, so you eat less. In the process of digesting fiber rich foods, that fiber 'sweeps' away tons of toxins and left over material in your digestive system, much like a broom, the result is a healthier digestive function.

The American Dietetic Association recommends between 20–35 grams of fiber for good health. However, in this case, too much is not on the lexicon! In the case of diabetes, or if you'd like to drop some serious pounds, 35-45 grams will help you more quickly attain your objectives.

When you're on a high fiber diet plan, it's essential that you increase your water intake. By way of guidance, 8 cups is recommended. If you become constipated, you'll want to increase the amount of water you drink.

Foods that are rich in fiber include whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Unfortunately, white bread is not the answer either as it does not contain much fiber, if any. Always check nutritional food labels to ensure that whole grains are in there. There are also commercial breads which can double the fiber content with added fiber on top of that in the whole grains.

Fresh, frozen and dried fruitsMost fruits, in any form, are another good source of fiber. Berries, plums, apples and pears, as well as dried figs and apricots should be added to that list. High fiber vegetables include broccoli, corn, garbanzos, green beans, green peas and snow peas are great choices. As for baked potatoes, always eat the skin, as that's where the most fiber is contained. Dried beans are also excellent.

A high fiber diet plan is good for everyone. Choose fiber rich foods that cost very little and eat plenty of them. Your body will thank you.

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